Hearty Steak and Kale Salad

So there I was <again> at lunch time. Staring a whole bunch of steak and veggie leftovers from Kabob night in my fridge. I didn’t just want to eat them plain. I wanted a salad. But not just any salad. A nice and hearty one. With hearty greens and a thick, yet nutritive dressing.

And then I remembered my friend, tahini. And then things got rolling…

Just look at this dressing. It’s so rich and flavorful. And literally coats every piece of kale it touches in a big way. It’s so good. You could actually probably just stop here and grab a spoon.

But let’s not do that just yet. Lets start with the Kale Prep. I used Lacinato because I love it. If you were a pro, you’d buy the whole leaves and wash, dry and cut out the stems. Or you can be me and get the Trader Joe’s version, already chopped and ready. I will say though, cutting your own is better; the Trader Joe’s Kale does have a lot of the stem, which makes it really chewy. But sometimes that’s all you have on hand.

Go ahead and give your kale a nice cold rinse. Pat it dry and massage it gently with a little oil, lemon, salt and pepper. It makes the Kale softer, more palatable and more flavorful on its own.

Set that aside and now lets work on our dressing. It’s just a mixture of tahini, tamari (haha say that 5x fast!), lemon, garlic, a liiiitle oil and salt. Either whisked to creamy perfection or buzzed for a bit in your Vitamix.

So creamy. So tangy. So flavorful. Just pour it over your salad.

I’m already salivating. You could honestly stop here. Or just go the extra 1/4 mile and add those toppings. You know you want to…

Ok. Here’s the down and dirty. I tend to be a little long winded sometimes. Especially when it comes to delicious things…

Serves Roughly 4. Or one sometimes if you’re me

Ingredients:

Salad

1 bunch kale or 1 package Trader Joe’s size kale; roughly 10oz.

1tbsp avocado oil (or olive works, too)

Pinch pink himalaya salt

About 1 tbsp lemon juice (fresh squeezed is best)

Dressing

1/3C Tahini

3 Cloves garlic, roasted

1 Lemon

2tbsp tamari or soy sauce

Pinch S&P

Water to thin

Toppings

Any mixture of grilled meats/veggies. I usually use leftovers honestly from these Kabobs or when I grill/roast a bunch of veg in advance!

Directions:

Add Kale to a large mixing bowl (or you can also do it right in your salad bowl if it’s for 1) and add your oil, lemon, salt and pepper. Use your hands to really rub/massage the kale and break it down the texture a bit. It also flavors the kale nicely and really complements the dressing.

For the dressing, add tahini, garlic, lemon juice, tamari, S&P to either a blender or a mixing bowl. If in a blender, go ahead and buzz it until all the ingredients are well incorporated and add warm water to emulsify until you reach your desired thickness… I usually add about 2 tbsp WARM water. Same concept in the mixing bowl; smash and whisk all ingredients until they are well incorporated and add warm water to thin your dressing to desired creaminess.

Now just pour your dressing over the kale and toss it real good so that all of your kale leaves are coated. Go ahead and taste it to see if it needs anything…

The kale here looks slightly different from the Asian Kale but I have seen this type of Kale when I was living in Australia. I love that you have added in some colorful piece here, such as the yellow and purple. This somehow made the dish looks more attractive and appetizing.